Nature

Sweet Carolina wrens? They’re vocal busybodies

Powell resident Glen Apseloff has produced a delightful book: Backyard Birds: Looking Through the Glass. It features dozens of color photos of most species that would be expected in a central Ohio yard. All of the birds — and other animals — were photographed through the windows of Apseloff’s home. The text offers interesting snippets about each species. Copies can be obtained through Amazon.com.

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The Carolina wren is a little bird with a big voice. A fixture in suburbia, the clear ringing
"teakettle, teakettle, teakettle” song of this species attracts attention. The singer is adept at
hiding, though, and often goes unseen.

Blunder too near a pair — the male and female almost always stay close to each other — and they’l
l let you have it. From the safety of shrubs or a brush pile, the wrens will pop off with loud
rattlesnake-like chatters, grating jeers and other harsh scolds. You have offended them, and they
are letting you know. Perennial motormouths, Carolina wrens sing year-round — even on cold winter
days.

Coax one out of the thicket and you’re in for a visual treat. The sexes look alike: bright
rufous above washed with pale buff-brown below and ornamented with a bold white eye stripe. As with
most wrens, they often cock their tail skyward.

Carolina wrens are only 5 1/2 inches long and weigh about the same as three quarters.

In Ohio, the wrens are living near the northern edge of their range. A Southern species, the
Carolina has expanded north in the past century and has become common throughout the state.

But Carolina wrens are half-hardy, and severe winters take a toll. The brutal winters of 1976-77
and 1977-78 decimated Ohio’s wren population. This crash was well-documented by the National
Audubon Society’s annual Christmas bird counts. Counts conducted in winter 1975 found 2,660
Carolina wrens statewide. Post-blizzard counts in winter 1979 found just 52 wrens in all of
Ohio.

Carolina wrens have long since rebounded, and there are some in your neighborhood. They are
nesting now and have a penchant for placing their nests in odd places.

A Carolina wren nest is a bulky, globular pile of twigs, often with the opening near the top. A
friend of mine has an active nest tucked behind beams in his shed. The birds slip in and out
through an ill-fitting door. They often choose hanging flowerpots and sometimes stuff their nest in
old shoes left on the porch. On unkempt properties, they’ve been known to nest in open glove boxes
of abandoned cars.

If a pair of wrens has inconvenienced you with an awkwardly placed nest, practice tolerance.
They won’t be there long. It takes only about a month from egg production until the young are ready
to leave the nest.

If all goes well, up to seven little wrens will strike out into the world. They'll then scour
your garden, bushes and eaves in search of spiders, caterpillars and other prey. Come winter,
Carolina wrens might even grace your feeders, where their beautiful plumage can easily be
admired.

Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch
on the first and third Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at
www.jimmccormac.blogspot.com.